Unique week

Beck Family!

So this week has been unique.

but also pretty crazy.

Missionary work wise, it felt like we were getting kicked in the face a lot. Not much good happened, we got dropped by some of our best investigators who have come to church and had really cool spiritual experiences. So that was no fun. We werent able to find a lot of our investigators, or make contact with them, so that made teaching harder, didnt have as many lessons as we like. And it was just generally not the best week in that aspect.
But in the aspect of a companionship, it was a great week. Me and elder C have been getting along super good, and its been cool to see that as we get along and are more open with communication, that it really does change the atmosphere with our investigators. For real, things are going great.
And I have done something pretty interesting family that i would like to share. Back in the beginning of october, i heard of something really interesting. It was refered to as a 40 day fast. It is meant to be a thing that helps in the process of santification. This is what i did. I first made a vision of what i want to become, related to my personal progression. I made the vision 'To Burn all The Ships in The Harbor.' That is refering to i want to burn everything behind me, everything holding me back, that can take me back to the way i was before the mission. I then set specific goals. The main goal was to do a 40 day fast of the things that are holding me back. I then set specific plans. Those plans including making a detailed and honest list of things that i do that i know i shouldnt, or things that i dont do that i know i should. This list included i should not even glance at the tv when we eat at a restaurant, i should not even hum music that isnt mission approved, i should not ask younger missionaries about movies that have come out. Just simple things like that. I then made this list and then prayed that i would be able to give up every thing on it for the next 40 days. That started on october 5th. Since  then i have noticed how those things seemed like even more of a temptaition than before. I realize that none of them are very large bad things, but they were just little things that i needed to change if i wanted to enjoy the company of the spirit always. I had to fight like a lion in this sanctification process, and do everything possible to be constantly focused in on the missionary work. Around day 30 i started to notice that it wasnt that hard to give up those things, that i didnt really even want to. I finisehd the 40 days this last week, and i can honestly say that i have seen a change in my nature from doing this. I seem to notice even the smallest things that drive away the sprit, every little thing seems to have an effect on me. I feel much more sensitive to the spirit and to its promptings. And i have seen that help me in my personal life and with helping other people. It has been incredible. I feel like it changed some of my most basic desires and habits. I know that change is possible. I know that we can become who God expects of us. I know that we can have confidence to be in front of Him if we are doing our very best. Cause if we are doing our very best, then we are doing enough.

Thanks so much family, love all of you, take CAre!

Beck out,
Elder Beck

 

Ok that is what fell out of the toaster!!! 

Us

Exterminator = most of them dead!

Beck Family!

Pretty average week.

Since when would you believe that? Not, it was crazy and awesome. So im gonna get started here. We celebrated elder C b-day this last week. I threw him a suprise b-day party. I had called up various ward members and given them assignments of stuff to bring and told them all where to meet up at. Then after ward correlation, we went to the partk, everything was already there waiting for us, elder C was actually suprised, and it was legit. I did all of the planning when we were on exchanges, or else it would be pretty hard to throw a suprise party for someone that you are constantly with. And we smashed his face into the cake, pictures to come of that great moment.

This last week we also did a big service project at a methodist church. The church really wants us to be doing more service, to be getting out into the community and doing more stuff like that. Adn this was a cool opportunity we had to do that. We broke down furniture, sweeped and mopped and cleaned their 'sunday school,' And we destroyed lots of stuff to fit it into the dumpsters. It was a methodist church, but definitly it is mostly and islander church, all of the church members there that were helping us were tongan and samoan. And those people are so big and so strong, its just intimidating. Then they fed us lunch, cause islanders, like mexicans, dont get together for any reason and not have food. I literally saw a tongan eat an entire pizza in minutes, and it didnt even slow him down. this guy probably weighed over 330 pounds of just man. big human. Really fun, fun to do service and to get together with the whole zone.

Also, incase i havent mentioned it, our apartment is infested with roached, like pretty dang bad. Everytime you turn on the lights when we come in at night you just see them start to scurry and try to hide. They are everywhere in the kitchen and bathroom, and then they made their way into our dresser. So when they started nesting in my running clothes, that is when i had to put my foot down and say something had to change. We had an exterminator come in on friday and poison and fumigate our apartment. It worked. I know it worked cause when we came back to our apartment that night we saw dozens, literally dozens of dead big o'l roaches all over the floors and counters, the poison is supposodley gonnna kill them for the next 3 months. Hey, thats long enough for me. But now hopefully we are the only living things in our apartment. WE had to  empty our cubbords and put all our food in bags, but now, there are no more. Except i did kill one in the shower this morning. For real, nothing freaks me out more than seeing a roach mid shower, cause i feel like its really hard to run away, so you just have to hold your ground, stop screaming like a girl, and kill that little varmint with whatever you can get your hands on. In the case of this morning, i ended up using my comps shampoo bottle. He has no idea that i killed a roach with it this morning, and im not gonna tell him. Its sometimes better when we dont know.

Anways, thanks for everything family, love you all so much, take care.

Beck out,
Elder Beck

Service project days

Surprise b-day party

Teaching in the hood

Halloween = Cockroaches!!!

Beck Family!

We had a super good week this last week. We got tons of teaching ton, and had some really powerfull lessons. We were able to find some investigators for the first time in a long time, and they were just so ready. Some of them came to church, we set lots of bap dates. Things are great here, i love this missionary work.
So Haloween is the worst day of the year for missionarires here. Why? Cause socal is crazy. So crazy that one of the most popular costumes that people werar on halloween is that of a LDS missionary. And so on haloween night there are dozens of 'missionaires' outside asking for candy. So for the safety of us, and cause we really wouldtn be able to get anything done, it is the one day of the whole year that they keep us inside. From 5-9 we are inside deep cleaning our apartment. It is the worst night of the year. And oh boy did we clean our apartment. And in the process we came to know how truly infested our apartment is with cockaroaches. It is so bad, i have never lived somewhere this bad. There are in the dressers, they are nesting in our clothes, they are in the sofa, under the sinks there are hundreds and so many larvas, its so bad. We killed dozens, but it probably only put a dent in the roach army that is stationed in our apartment. We cleaned so thouroughly, cause we think that if we clean really good that they wont have any more food and so they will die. False, roaches can live anywehre they want to live, and it dont matter if they are hungry. So disapointing to see. We have an exterminator coming this friday. Until then we are sleeping wit hthe lights on, cause i do not want them crawling on us in our sleep, that would be so gross it makes me wanna scream. Whyt is the ghetto so full of roaches?

Our mission is doing some really cool things for the end of the year, we are all reading the book of mormon by thhe end of the year, and pryaing daily to see miracles. wE are realling kicking off this last two months and are gonna go all out. And that is awesome cause there is so much potential here for great things.

cool moment this last week. WE were teaching a lady named G. We were teaching here the plan of salvation. WE taught the whole thing and she understood it really well. But right at the end she asked us some questions about the different kingdoms. She then asked us what happened to people that took their own life? It then got really quiet, and then she began to tell us that one year ago her little brother committed suicide. And that is is the biggest burden that she carries around, not knowing if she will ever get to see him again. We opened up the scriptures to alma 40, very popular for the plan of salvation, and taught the true doctrine  that touched her heart. She began to cry, and as we testified that God was aware of all of our struggles, she began to feel that it was true. She said 'i know that i can help him in your temples, and that is what i want to do, i want to help my little brother.' It was a moment where her conversion deepened, and the spirit was felt. She is working towards baptism. I believe she will make it, she felt something strong that day.
Thanks for everything family, love you all so much, have a great week.

Beck out,
Elder Beck